My latest survey suggests that hardly anyone likes what is happening to London's Covent Garden. Capco, the giant investment company, wishes to turn it into "Selfridges without a roof". It has recently bought up £68m of property in Covent Garden, which brings the value of its estate to £700m, and now it wants the Africa Centre as well, but it is being a bit cagey about what it wants to do with it.

"We have no plans," says a spokeswoman. She is tremendously laid-back about this purchase. The company would be "willing buyers" if it were for sale. "We're very much committed to enhancing Covent Garden going forward," says she. I passed this news to Fielding, who has taught English A levels for years. "I would give that sentence an E-minus," said he, horrified. It's a worry when people who talk such bilge are in charge of chunks of our capital city, and have no plans for a building that may cost them £10m-plus.

It is so difficult to get at the truth. I hear that Capco may put a giant men's outfitters in the Africa Centre's building. It would blend nicely with Moss Bros, the Suit Company, Hackett and Burberry, which are already in that street.

Ethnic heritage can buzz off somewhere else, together with the buskers and the cobblestones, which Capco was trying to deplete a few years ago.

Now the Africa Centre has almost had it. Capco and the centre's trustees have nearly worked out a deal, before telling their stakeholders or Africa Centre tenants. No they haven't. Yes they have. The Africa Centre will stay somewhere in Covent Garden. Or in central London. Or in the suburbs. Capco's money is its only option. No it isn't.

African entrepreneurs have offered to help with fundraising, Desmond Tutu, Glenys Kinnock, numerous members of the African diaspora and countless others don't want it to move, Boris "intends to raise concerns", but all trustees except for one seem to have thrown in the towel. All right, Africa Centre has been in the doldrums, but it could perk up, given the chance. Will it get one?